The Womanwith the Alabaster Jar, Prologue and Chapter 1 [Note: There are two sets of questions on this page. Be sure to answer them both.]

Read the Prologue and Chapter 1 of the book, Woman with the Alabaster Jarby Margaret Starbird.

Who is the Grail, and Where Did She Go? Clearly, from this prologue, the Grail is Mary of Bethany, the sister of Lazarus and Martha, also known as the Magdalen or Mary Magdalene. She is the woman that anointed Yeshua for his burial, the woman that Yeshua promised would be remembered for that act.

Although the author has given no facts to support this fictitious account, you may already be feeling the Truth in it. Don’t ignore this feeling, intuition is key. We’ll refer back to your intuition later – so if you’re not feeling intuitive, try going back and reading it again. Try to “tune in” to your intuition.

 

In this prologue, we learn the alleged fate of the Magdalen after Yeshua has died and then risen from his tomb. She is forced to flee Jerusalem, going into Egypt. From Egypt, she went to Gaul (now Southern France)under the continued protection of Yosef of Arimathea. But why? Why was she in so much danger? Did the Roman authorities really consider Yeshua, his wife, and his offspring to be that serious a threat?

The answer is a resounding YES! Whether Yeshua had any interest in Roman rule or not is a topic of great debate. One thing is certain, though: If Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator, hadn’t considered Yeshua a serious threat to Roman rule, He would never have been crucified. Crucifixion was reserved for Jewish seditionists. Pilate could have cared less about the charge of blasphemy, and even told the Sanhedrin to deal with that themselves.In order to be crucified, Yeshua must have been seen as an Enemy of Rome.Because of this and his title as King of the Jews, his wife and particularly his offspring were in great danger. If Yeshua were really King of the Jews,his male offspring would be the heir to a secular throne in Jerusalem, the very one King Herod sat on.

As we’ll see later, there is evidence and legend even today that the Magdalen and her offspring – and some other disciples – did show up in the south of France not long after the Crucifixion of Christ. They were the first to take the Good News to Gaul (France). It is clear that the Magdalen must have been afraid of something to travel all the way to Gaul with her child. We’ve established what she was afraid of (Rome), and why (because Rome feared Yeshua and his offspring). Ironically, this is still the truth today. The Church of Rome fears Yeshua’s Bride and offspring, systematically squelching belief in them during the entire preceding two thousand years up to and including the present. The Vatican’s recent efforts are evidenced by its loud and vigorous attacks upon, and attempts at suppression of, the novel The DaVinci Code.

Copy and paste the following questions into an e-mail, insert your answers, and send to the Esoteric Mystery School with the subject line reading: “Alabaster Jar, Lesson 1  from ______________  ”

1. What region did the Magdalen apparently end up in?

2. T/F – The Magdalen is Mary of Bethany, Lazarus’ and Martha’s sister.

3. T/F – Yeshua was the rightful King of the Jews.

4. Who was the procurator that ordered Yeshua crucified?

5. T/F – Yeshua was crucified because the procurator felt He had blasphemed against God Most High.

6. T/F – The Magdalen’s child was born in Egypt.

7. What was the Holy Grail?

8. T/F – Yeshua charged Yosef of Arimathea to protect the Holy Grail.

9. Was the child of Yeshua and the Magdalen a boy or a girl?

10. What was the name of the Magdalen’s child?

11. Opinion: Based upon its place of birth, do you think the Magdalen’s child’s skin color would have been light or dark or olive / medium—what?

Essay Question:

The Magdalen and Her child were hidden away because of the Romans. “Rome”is still forcing them to remain hidden. Draw parallels between how Rome suppressed the Magdalen and Her child then, and how they’ve suppressed them since the establishment of the Roman Catholic Church and the “Holy” Inquisition.

Exercise 1:

Write a prayer, poem, or story about or to the Magdalen in your journal.If writing a prayer, pray it everyday for a week. If writing a poem, read aloud everyday for a week. If writing a story, read it to yourself everyday for a week.

Exercise 2: Draw a picture based on your intuition about the Magdalen. Whatever image your intuition leads you to, try to draw it into your journal. If you are just totally un-artistic, try to still visualize some images, a picture.Close your eyes and picture something in your mind. Write down what you see,colors, images, characters, symbols. Likely, the symbols you come up with will be something directly significant to the Magdalen.

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The Sacred Prostitute

Please Read pp. 29-33, beginning with the subtitle, “The Sacred Prostitute.” (In Margaret Starbird’s The Woman with the Alabaster Jar)

In scripture, it never once refers to the Magdalen as a prostitute. Yet people have thought Her a prostitute for about two thousand years. Following the example of Catholocism, when an answer can’t be found in scripture, we’ll refer to tradition. Why is the Magdalen described as a prostitute, traditionally?

As you’ve read, the Magdalen anointed Yeshua in much the same way as the “sacred women” of the Pagan temples did to kings. (These “sacred women” were incorrectly equated with prostitutes). The Magdalen is traditionally called a prostitute not because She was one, but because She played the role of the “sacred women” of the temples of her day. She anointed Yeshua as King.

Fulfilling the archetype of Sacrificed King that we read about, Yeshua acknowledged that the Magdalen was anointing Him for Kingship by saying She was anointing Him for burial. When He became the Anointed King, the “cosmic clock” of the Sacrificed King archetype began ticking. Yeshua acknowledge both His Kingship and the fact that His Death would eventually come as a part of this.

Here’s the clincher: Kings always married the priestesses that anointed them, so as to marry into the Earth Goddess. We’ve established that Yeshua acknowledged the other aspects of His archetype. Should we be led to believe that He ignored the archetype of being married to the Priestess that anointed Him King? Highly unlikely, if Yeshua really wanted to fulfill the entire archetype.

Answer the following questions, copying and pasting them into a new e-mail and sending them to the MysterySchool with the subject line “Alabaster Jar, Chapter 1 Answers from ____________”

1. T/F – Scripture says that the Magdalen was a prostitute.

2. T/F – Magdalen was a prostitute.

3. From your reading, name one of the sun / fertility gods and their respective spouse.

4. Name the Book of Scripture that refers to Bride/Bridegroom most often and blatantly.

5. T/F – Starbird believes that Mary of Bethany anointed Yeshua for Kingship and Burial.

6. T/F – Kings did not typically marry the priestesses that anointed them.

7. What archetype did Yeshua’s anointing place Him into?

8. T/F – (from the reading) Societies were matrilineal up until third millennium B.C.

9. T/F – The Magdalen fulfilled the archetype of Sister-Bride.

10. What kind of jar was the oil in?

11. And what kind of substance or material (Metal? Clay? What?) is it?

Essay Question:

It’s intuition time, folks. Put yourself in the Magdalen’s shoes. You know that to anoint Your Husband makes Him King, and is necessary. But You also know it places Him in the Dying King archetype. Based on what you know, what would you do? Record what you’re feeling as you make this decision. (For men, if you feel more comfortable, you can identify with Yeshua and knowing that He would have to Sacrifice Himself – but try to identify with the Magdalen, as we are trying to reclaim the Sacred Feminine. Identifying with Yeshua’s Sacrifice, while important, has been done for two thousand years).

Exercises:

Commune through prayer with the Magdalen every morning and night. Ask Her to help with your tough decisions and to show you the Will of the Godhead in those decisions. Record in your journal decisions that you think She has helped you make, and things that you think She has made easier in your life.

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